Xbox One vs. Xbox 360: spec showdown

Great power comes with every new console — and the newly announced XBox One is no exception.

The system has been built from the ground up as an entertainment hub, relying heavily on Xbox Live and cable to push it to the forefront of eighth-generation console. However robust and impressive the software might be though, it’s the hardware housed underneath the system’s glossy black exterior that powers the machine and ramps up its capabilities well beyond the Xbox 360.

It dons a familiar size akin to the redesigned Xbox 360 S, but features a more box-like appearance in line with many modern Blu-ray players and AV receivers available on the market. It retains the glossy sheen of its predecessor, albeit with a nice little beveled edge for a more stylish look, but ditches the stylish curves and vertical placement option we came to know and love with the later Xbox 360 model.

Design aesthetics aside, it’s the interior that truly got the upgrade. Microsoft claims that the One is capable of delivering eight times the graphical performance of its predecessor, but remains elusive regarding the exact hardware specs. The coupled 5 billion transistors represent a enormous leap when compared to the 360’s 500 million, but the jump from the now-meager 512MB GDDR3 RAM to a whopping 8GB is just as considerable and momentous. Also, instead of of the two processing chips need to power the 360 — the IBM PowerPC Tri-Core processor and accompanying ATI Xenos GPU — the One will feature a single dedicated 40-nanometer chip to get the job done.

The equipped USB ports have been kicked up a notch on the One from 2.0 to 3.0, and the machines optical drive now features Blu-ray capabilities as well as DVD, a more-than-welcomed changed after the short-lived experiment that was HD-DVD. But alas, it seems like composite and component connectivity might be a thing of the past. Alternatively, the One is equipped with pass-through HDMI for directly connecting the system to a cable box or other similar device.

The console is not the only “next-gen” hardware Microsoft had to show off. The newly-redesigned wireless controller, though similar to the 360 controller, does away with the bulky, backside battery pack in favor of a more streamlined approach that features an integrated battery compartment. The D-pad, a big crux of the original 360 gamepad, is also getting a facelift and slight modification. Additionally, Kinect 2.0 will make it’s debut on the One, touting a 1080p camera, an increased field of view and more accurate motion-sensing technology.

Below is our side-by-side comparison of how the One prevails over its successor in one way or another. It’s difficult to say what how Microsoft plans to push the hardware at the time being, but surely they will make the most of it. Take a gander at all of our Xbox One news and announcements for all the latest details or head over to our Xbox One vs. Playstation 4: spec showdown for a simple side-by-side comparison of the future of gaming.